Conveyors

ABSTRACT

A panel type conveyor comprising a plurality of interconnected panels, one side of each panel being formed with a first set of hinge lugs, the opposite parallel side being formed with a second set of hinge lugs, interfitting with the first set of lugs of an adjacent panel. Tie rods pass through the hinge lugs and connect the panels pivotally. Rollers are rotatably mounted on the rods between certain of the hinge lugs, these rollers engaging in elongate sprockets and running on spaced apart rails between the sprockets to support the panels.

United States Patent [151 3,674,130 Carmichael July 4, 1972 [54] CONVEYORS 2,118,736 5/1938 Odom ..l98/l 95 1,794,182 2/1931 Kunz [72] Inventor. Alan Carmichael, Brookwood, England 1,587,510 6/1926 Davidson 198/195 [73] Assignee: Eico Limited, Woking, Surrey, England 1,586,382 5/1926 Reed ..l98/l95 Filed: Sept- 1970 2,990,940 7/1961 Morchant ..l98/18l X [21] App|.No.: 70,254 Primary ExaminerEvon C. Blunk Assistant Examinerl-iadd S. Lane Attorney-Donald C. Studley, Richard P. Mueller, James F.

Foreign and Benjamin Sept. 15, 1969 Great Britain ..45,448/69 [57] ABSTRACT ..l98/l95 A panel type conveyor comprising a plurality of intercom nected panels, one side of each panel being formed with a first [58] held of Search g set of hinge lugs, the opposite parallel side being formed with a second set of hinge lugs, interfitting with the first set of lugs of an adjacent panel. Tie rods pass through the hinge lugs and [56] References Cited connect the panels pivotally. Rollers are rotatably mounted on the rods between certain of the hin e In s, these rollers en a UNITED STATES PATENTS g g g g mg 111 elongate sprockets and running on spaced apart rails 1,718,737 6/1929 Frellino 1 98/1 83 X between the Sprockets to Support h pane l,7l5,l97 5/1929 Grabil.... ....198/195 X 2,694,484 1 H1954 Grebe ..l98/l8l X 6 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures SHEET 3 BF 4 PKTENTEBJM 4 m2 PA'TENTEBJUL 41912 3574.130

SHEET LHJF 4 CONVEYORS The present invention relates to conveyors. conventionally conveyors of the panel type comprise a series of panels, which are supported at their side edges by means of roller chains, which pass around sprockets, the chains also serving to drive the conveyor in a forward direction.

One of the drawbacks of conveyors of this type is that in order to provide the necessary rigidity of the conveyor then the thickness of the panels or section has to be increased in proportion to the width. This clearly is unsatisfactory since it requires an initial high capital cost of the conveyor and also requires a high running cost to drive the conveyor.

It is now proposed, according to the present invention, to provide a conveyor assembly comprising a plurality of interconnected panels, one side of each of said panels being formed with a first set of hinge lugs, the opposite parallel side being formed with a second set of hinge lugs interfitting with the first set of lugs of an adjacent panel, a plurality of tie rods passing through the interfitting lugs of adjacent panels, to form a hinged connection between adjacent panels and rollers being interposed between certain of said hinge lugs and mounted for rotation on said rods.

With such a construction, it is possible to provide a completely modular system in which a large number of panels can be provided and assembled in the desired array for a particular job. For example, the panels may measure 6 by 3 inches 15.2 X 7.6 cm) and be provided with hinge lugs on opposite edges, the hinge lugs on one edge being disposed so as to be located between the hinge lugs of the opposite edge of an adjacent panel, and to provide a space for the rollers. With such a construction, a multiplicity of load bearing rollers may be provided for an area of 1 square foot (30.5 X 30.5 cm) of conveyor. The width of the conveyor and the length thereof can be built up to the desired amount for the particular task concerned. The rollers may run, in between the ends of the conveyor, on rails provided at appropriate locations.

According to a preferred construction, the conveyor is provided with a continuous form of drive sprocket which extends the full width of the conveyor. This sprocket may again be of modular construction being built up of a plurality of identical blocks which are provided at their end edges with interengaging means, to prevent relative rotation between adjacent blocks. A convenient form of interengagement is a crossed rib on one end face and a crossed recess on the other end face, the crossed rib of one block locating in the recess of the adjacent blocks. The blocks may be held together by tie bars passing through apertures formed in the blocks. The periphery of each block is identical and is formed with hollows which are proportioned so as accurately to accommodate the rollers of the conveyor.

One of the disadvantages of the conventional conveyor is that the drive is applied at the edges of one end of the conveyor only, this imparts a considerable stress on the panels of the conveyor and more particularly on the interconnection between the panels.

With the conveyor provided with the rollers as in the present invention, a number of the elongate sprocket arrangements, each built up of the blocks, may be provided at spaced intervals along the length of the conveyor, and drive may be applied to each sprocket. Thus, it would readily be possible to provide positive locating drive units at specified intervals, acting on the full width of conveyor and fully to support the rollers of the conveyor by rails in between each adjacent pair of sprockets. Each sprocket being driven, the problems of tensioning of the conveyor, and the interconnecting elements is greatly reduced.

A further advantage of the invention is that if so desired, a roller conveyor may be formed, by taking a number of panels, together with the rollers mounted thereon, and laying the panels on a support surface, with the rollers uppermost. If desired, the various panel members may be interconnected by the tie rods which form axles for the rollers, or, if it is intended to use the roller conveyor to pass an object to be conveyed around a comer, then the panels may be separate from one another, adjacent panels being angularly offset, as viewed in plan, to provide the necessary curvature to take the object round the comer.

In order that the invention may more readily be understood, the following description is given, merely by way of example, reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of one module or panel for forming a conveyor according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a similar view of a second embodiment of module or panel;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a conveyor formed round the drive sprocket using the panel of FIG. 1 or FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an end view, with parts broken away, and to a reduced scale of the conveyor of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an end view of the block used to make up the continuous sprocket illustrated in FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 illustrates the components of the conveyor disposed so as to form a roller conveyor.

Referring first to FIG. 1, there is illustrated one form of panel or mdule for forming the conveyor of the invention. This panel 10 is formed of moulded synthetic resin, and comprises a rectangular portion 12 which is perforated, and has a first pair of parallel edges 13 and 14, and a second pair of parallel edges 15 and 16. The edge 13 is provided with four spaced apart hinge lugs 17, 18, 19 and 20 and the opposite edge 14 is provided with four further hinge lugs 21, 22, 23 and 24. When two such panels are arranged side by side, the lugs 17 and 18 locate between the lugs 21 and 22, and the lugs 19 and 20 locate between the lugs 23 and 24.

Moulded on the edge 15 are projections 26, while on the opposite edge 16 co-operating recesses 28 are formed.

The perforations 30 formed in the panel 12 are of tapered cross-section, to facilitate removal of the element from the mould. The apertures 30 are formed in parallel lines and rows, these being produced by projections formed in the wall of the die by machining for example with a milling cutter, in parallel lines and rows. This is a relatively inexpensive method of manufacturing the die, which gives perfectly satisfactory results as regards the shape of the perforations in the panel 12.

FIG. 2 illustrates a similar panel which has the same general overall dimensions, but in this construction the hinge lugs are disposed at different locations, and the panel is perforated in a different manner. Again, the perforations are arranged so that their edges are in parallel straight lines and these perforations can be formed with a similar die machined in a similar manner to that which is used for producing the panel of FIG. 1.

Referring now to FIG. 3, there is illustrated a conveyor which is built up of a plurality of panels as illustrated in FIG. 1. The panels 10 are interconnected by means of tie rods 32 which pass through the hinge lugs 17, 18, 19 and 20 of one panel, and through the hinge lugs 21, 22, 23 and 24 of the adjacent panel. Interposed between the lugs 17 and 18, between the lugs 19 and 20, and between the lugs 22 and 23, are rollers 34 which are capable of rotating about the tie rods 32. In order to accommodate the rollers 34, the panel 10 is formed with arcuate recesses 35 which can be seen both in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the panels 10 are pivoted together by means of the tie rods 32 to form a conveyor, which extends around the sprocket member indicated by the general reference numeral 36. In the embodiment illustrated the sprocket 36 is an elongate toothed member provided with six arcuate hollows 37, the curvature of which is chosen, as illustrated, accurately to accommodate the rollers 34. The sprocket member extends across the full width of the conveyor and is made up of a plurality of identical blocks. These blocks 38, which are also illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5 are provided with an undulating periphery to provide the recesses 37 and are formed with interengaging means comprising a pair of crossed ribs 39 on one face, and a pair of crossed recesses 40 on the other face. When the blocks are assembled together the ribs 39 engage in the recesses 40, as can be seen in FIG. 4. The blocks are held together by means of tie bars 41 provided with nuts 42, which also secure the tie bars to the flange 43A of the drive arrangement. In order to provide drive, a shaft 43 is welded to the flange 43A, and a portion of the end block and the tie bars pass through an opening in the supporting side frames 44 (FIG. 4).

Referring again to FIG. 5, it can be seen that each of the blocks 38 is provided with four apertures 45 to receive the tie bars 41 As can be seen in FIG. 3, the rollers 34 as well aspassing around the sprockets 36 run on support rails 46 which extend horizontally between the sprockets 36. If desired, the sprockets can be provided not only at the ends of the conveyor but also at points anywhere along the length with, the rails extending between each set of sprockets. In this way the conveyor is supported over its full width on each of the sprockets, and drive may be effected at different locations along the length of the conveyor, so that the forces between adjacent conveyor panels are small.

As can be seen from FIG. 4, the conveyor is well supported, insofar as at least six rollers are shown for each panel. The panels may be arranged end to end to increase the width of the conveyor as desired. When the panels are arranged end to end, the projections 26 locate in the recesses 28 of an adjacent panel further to increase rigidity and to ensure alignment of the panels with respect to one another and prevent twisting. With this arrangement, if, for example, the panels are 6 by 3 inches (15.2 X 7.6 cms), and depending upon the load an area of the conveyor measuring 1 X 1 ft. (30.5 X 30.5 cm), may be supported by 24 rollers, for example. These rollers are each fully supported for the full length of the conveyor either by the sprockets 36 or by the rails 46. Thus the conveyor may extend for a considerable width and a considerable length and the modular construction enables a user to make up any desired length and width of conveyor.

If it is desired to increase the strength of the conveyor metal links 50 (FIG. 4) pivoted to the rods 32, may be provided between certain panels and/or at the edge of the assembly. These would then have the same general shape, as viewed from the side, as the panels seen in FIG. 3.

It will be appreciated that the provision of the aperture 30 in the panels enables the conveyor to be used for a number of different purposes. For example it may be used for conveying articles in a conventional manner resting merely on the top of the conveyor. However, it is also contemplated providing fittings which clip into the apertures, these fittings engaging the article which is to be conveyed For example the fittings may include a press stud end which can clip into one of the apertures, and an upstanding rod, on which a bottle may be arranged in an upturned orientation, so that the conveyor may be used in a bottle washing machine, the spray of water passing up through the apertures in the conveyor, or from a position located immediately above the conveyor. Numerous other applications are contemplated. Since the conveyor may be made entirely of plastics material or metal covered with plastics material, it is possible to have the conveyor passing through a corrosive medium if this is desired.

As can be seen from FIG. 6, the panels and associated rollers may be laid flat, with the rollers uppermost on a suitable support, and the arrangement used as a roller conveyor, either of a gravity feed type, or in combination with some means for causing the objects which are to be conveyed, to move. One particular use is to connect the conveyors which are assembled as illustrated with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, for example to pass articles around the comer. With such an arrangement, a number of panels may be secured to a base board, each panel being provided with two tie bars and the appropriate number of rollers, and the panels are arranged so as not to be connected. Ifthe axes of the tie rods of adjacent sets of panels are arranged at an angle to one another, as viewed in plan, then an object to be conveyed will be caused to move in an arcuate path.

It will be appreciated that the present invention provides a conveyor system which is extremely flexible in its use and which can be relatively inexpensive to manufacture and yet provide a rugged construction having a considerable width and suflicient strength for most commercial purposes.

I claim:

1. A conveyor assembly of the interconnected panel type, comprising, in combination:

a. a plurality of similar interconnected panels,

b. a pair of parallel sides to each of said panels;

c. a first set of spaced apart hinge lugs on one of said pair of sides of each of said panel;

d. a second set of spaced apart hinge lugs on the other of said pair of sides and interfitting with the first set of hinge lugs of an adjacent panel;

e. a plurality of rods passing through the interfitting lugs of adjacent panels, effective to form a hinged connection between adjacent panels;

f. rollers interposed between certain of said hinge lugs, and

mounted for rotation on said rods;

g. spaced apart support rails, said rollers running on said rails; and

h. at least one continuous drive sprocket having a driven element and provided with peripheral hollows proportioned to accommodate drivingly said rollers; said sprocket comprising i. a plurality of similar blocks formed with peripheral hollows interengaging with said rollers, end faces to each of said blocks interengaging with each other and said driven element.

2. A conveyor as claimed in claim 1, wherein said interengaging means on said end faces comprise a crossed rib on one end face and a crossed recess on the other end face.

3. A conveyor as claimed in claim 2, and further comprising aligned apertures in said blocks and tie bars passing through said apertures, effective to hold said blocks together.

4. A conveyor as claimed in claim 1, wherein said panels are rectangular and include two parallel ends perpendicular to said parallel sides, wherein one of said ends is formed with at least one projection and wherein the other of said ends is formed with at least one recess positioned to be engageable by the projection of a laterally adjacent panel.

5. A conveyor as claimed in claim 1, wherein said panels are perforated.

6. A conveyor as claimed in claim 1, and further comprising strengthening links extending between adjacent rods and pivotally connected thereto. 

1. A conveyor assembly of the interconnected panel type, comprising, in combination: a. a plurality of similar interconnected panels, b. a pair of parallel sides to each of said panels; c. a first set of spaced apart hinge lugs on one of said pair of sides of each of said panel; d. a second set of spaced apart hinge lugs on the other of said pair of sides and interfitting with the first set of hinge lugs of an adjacent panel; e. a plurality of rods passing through the interfitting lugs of adjacent panels, effective to form a hinged connection between adjacent panels; f. rollers interposed between certain of said hinge lugs, and mounted for rotation on said rods; g. spaced apart support rails, said rollers running on said rails; and h. at least one continuous drive sprocket having a driven element and provided with peripheral hollows proportioned to accommodate drivingly said rollers; said sprocket comprising i. a plurality of similar blocks formed with peripheral hollows interengaging with said rollers, end faces to each of said blocks interengaging with each other and said driven element.
 2. A conveyor as claimed in claim 1, wherein said interengaging means on said end faces comprise a crossed rib on one end face and a crossed recess on the other end face.
 3. A conveyor as claimed in claim 2, and further comprising aligned apertures in said blocks and tie bars passing through said apertures, effective to hold said blocks together.
 4. A conveyor as claimed in claim 1, wherein said panels are rectangular and include two parallel ends perpendicular to said parallel sides, wherein one of said ends is formed with at least one projection and wherein the other of said ends is formed with at least one recess positioned to be engageable by the projection of a laterally adjacent panel.
 5. A conveyor as claimed in claim 1, wherein said panels are perforated.
 6. A conveyor as claimed in claim 1, and further comprising strengthening links extending between adjacent rods and pivotally connected thereto. 